Yale University announced the purchase of a 4,400-solar panel installation from SolarCity for its West Campus. The panels are spread on the rooftop of a 350,000 square feet warehouse.
Virginia Chapman, director of Yale’s Office of Sustainability, said about the announcement:

“The West Campus building is an ideal location for an installation of this size. We are excited about what this project represents for the university, our strategic plan goals, and the future of renewable energy partnerships at Yale.”

The solar array will generate approximately 1.6 GWh of electricity annually or about the equivalent of the electricity used by 130 Connecticut homes for one year.

The decision to install the solar array, which increases the university’s power generation by eight-fold, comes from its commitment to meet its goal of reducing campus greenhouse gas emissions 43% below 2005 levels by 2020.

Yale campus grew in size by 14% since 2005, but it decreased its greenhouse gas emissions by 12% during the last 10 years.